hardly intelligible

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "hardly intelligible" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that is difficult to understand or barely comprehensible. Example: "The speaker's accent was so thick that his words were hardly intelligible to the audience."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

3 human-written examples

The resulting voices were so bizarre that they were hardly intelligible.

The New York Times - Magazine

Starting in 1975, with the assassination of the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in Athens, Richard Welch, the group managed to identify and kill American intelligence officers, Turkish diplomats, a British military officer and several Greek businessmen, offering justifications for those and other attacks in long, sometimes hardly intelligible proclamations.

The New York Times

And that's Chevron's smoking gun -- the judge's single, hardly intelligible, and un-directed "yes, sir" at the end of a meeting at which he has repeatedly said that he cannot predict his verdict.

Huffington Post

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

But the diplomatic fall-out could hardly have been bigger.Conspiracy theories in Moscow about who killed Mr Litvinenko have reached a pitch of dialecticism that is scarcely intelligible to outsiders.

The Economist

His voice, barely intelligible, was testing its uppermost register.

The New York Times

That is barely intelligible.

SEP

Quack Donald associates the Republican nominee with Disney character Donald Duck, famous for his barely intelligible speech.

Huffington Post

Hardly any were capable of intelligible speech, many were deaf and/or blind, and those that could understand what investigators were saying were painfully shy due to spending their entire lives without communicating with anyone other their immediate family members.

Independent

No intelligible words, just news tinnitus.

The Guardian - TV & Radio

We just need consistent, mutually intelligible, language.

Journal of Cheminformatics

Additionally, many of us have intelligible speech.

Independent

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When describing speech or writing, use "hardly intelligible" to emphasize a significant lack of clarity, making understanding very difficult. For example, "The recording was of poor quality, making the message "hardly intelligible".

Common error

Avoid using "hardly intelligible" when you mean 'slightly intelligible'. "Hardly" implies a near-total lack of understanding, so using it when there's a partial understanding is inaccurate. Instead, opt for phrases like "somewhat intelligible" or "partially understandable" to better reflect the situation.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "hardly intelligible" functions as an adjectival phrase modifying a noun. It indicates the degree to which something can be understood. As confirmed by Ludwig, the phrase is correct and usable in English to describe something difficult to understand.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

30%

Formal & Business

20%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "hardly intelligible" accurately describes something very difficult to understand, as confirmed by Ludwig. While not extremely common, it finds appropriate usage across diverse contexts like news, science, and formal communications. As an adjectival phrase, it effectively conveys a significant lack of clarity. Ludwig's analysis shows that related phrases include "barely understandable" and "scarcely comprehensible", offering alternatives for expressing varying degrees of comprehensibility. Remember to use "hardly intelligible" when you want to stress that something is almost impossible to understand. Be mindful of misusing the term for situations where partial understanding exists; alternative phrases might be more suitable in those cases.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

barely understandable

Indicates a minimal level of comprehension, similar to "hardly intelligible" but focusing on understandability.

scarcely comprehensible

Emphasizes the difficulty in grasping the meaning, closely mirroring the original phrase.

difficult to comprehend

A more straightforward way of expressing the idea of something not easily understood.

nearly incomprehensible

Highlights that something almost cannot be understood, similar to the original phrase.

vaguely understandable

Suggests a very slight degree of understanding, implying a lack of clarity.

faintly intelligible

Implies a weak or indistinct clarity, making comprehension difficult.

not easily understood

A simple alternative phrase to express the difficulty in understanding something.

somewhat obscure

Shifts the focus to the obscurity of the topic, implying difficulty in understanding.

murky

Describing something as lacking clarity and therefore difficult to understand

ambiguous

Emphasizes the lack of clarity and precision in the message, making it hard to understand

FAQs

How can I rephrase "hardly intelligible"?

You can use alternatives such as "barely understandable", "scarcely comprehensible", or "difficult to comprehend" depending on the specific context.

What does "hardly intelligible" mean?

The phrase "hardly intelligible" means something is difficult to understand or barely comprehensible. It suggests a significant lack of clarity.

When is it appropriate to use the phrase "hardly intelligible"?

Use "hardly intelligible" when describing speech, writing, or any form of communication that is so unclear it's nearly impossible to understand. For instance, "The speaker's accent made his words "hardly intelligible".

Is "hardly intelligible" a formal or informal phrase?

"Hardly intelligible" is suitable for both formal and informal contexts. Its appropriateness depends more on the surrounding language and the overall tone of the communication.